Kat: Rush Void, sorc boots, and liandrys?

The reason people disagree with Liandry's is because kat is a burst assassin and Liandry's passive is more of a poke item. If you can rush DFG first, then that is best IMO. The guise (item that upgrades into Liandry's) is actually very good and worth getting, but I usually never even upgrade it to Liandry's unless I need to get tanky and also intend to get . If you are against AD I usually go Seeker's then DFG.

The four "core" items for kat are included in your build...DFG, Rabadon's, Zonyas, and Void Staff. Inbetween those it can be good to get Guise for the HP and MPen, but I normally wouldnt upgrtade to Liandry's until after your core is complete. Then again, if it works then keep doing it...it's like Liandry's is bad on kat or anything.

IMO you should remember to use that , because: dfg+your full combo = kill kill = resets resets = another kill ..perhaps

is trolling item for Kata. Really, why Kata would need DoT, she burst target in seconds anyway. I would replace that item with or .

Personally, I dont care for on Kat, I like , because of its killer passive and massive burst potential it adds to her. Keep doing you man but give it a shot sometime!

By far the best Kat build is DFG first. It has longer range than Shunpo, so when you are going in on someone you just roll through your keys (You do smartcast everything on Kat right?) and they die. That first kill is a billion times more important than anything else you can possibly do on Kat. That reset is so absurdly critical.

DFG means you can kill an opponent with a mobility skill before they can get away. This lets you 1v1 duel people much more effectively. It also lets you teamfight waaaay better, because in team fights you have to deal with shields and heals and stacking CC, so the faster someone dies the better. Really, Kat is all about that first reset. Get a kill, then either Zhonyas if the entire enemy teams looks like they are going to pile in on you or Shunpo into their backfield and hope that their squishies were damaged enough by your ult that you can kill them with a simple eqw burst. Assuming they were hurt enough to die to that, you now pentakill them. If not, you killed one target with DFG combo and chunked someone else. And that is the goal of an assassin.

The best Kat's I've seen rush Sorc Shoes and DFG. From there it is situational. Deathcap and Zhonyas are both amazing, Void Staff and Abyssal are both strong depending on what you are against. Other niche items are good in their niches.

There are two newb trap items on Kat: Liandry's and Gunblade.
-Haunting Guise isn't a bad buy, but a poke centric item that deals its damage slowly over time is awful on an assassin that absolutely MUST instakill a target. Not to mention Kat doesn't even have a single skill that synergizes at all with the item. Look at the champions that buy it, they have either extreme range poke or some innate synergy. -Gunblade has the problem of wasted stats and a bad build path. Lifesteal isn't going to help Kat. AD is mediocre and doesn't scale with Deathcap. The slow active is actually pretty useful. But when do you buy it? Most Kat's try to rush it, but holy crap is Kat weak with just a Hextech Revolver. Her skills are AoE so they don't heal for much, and why would you even want to invest in sustain on a roam-assassin based on instakilling people?

Well generally you won't need that much magic pen.. AT ALL. EVER. Unless you're facing a team of all tanks, you only really need the mpen from void staff and sorc boots. Liandry's doesn't give the raw AP that Katarina benefits so much from. DFG is generally the best rush item, because it can really get you snowballing. DFG is INSANELY important to use, I cannot stress this enough. DFG active does 15% max hp damage over a few seconds, and has 20% increased damage for a bit. Can't kill that pesky adc? USE YOUR DFG. Lee sin on your ass? USE YOUR DFG. It's SO IMPORTANT to use, it can mean the difference between a lost or a won teamfight/skirmish/duel. It's also important to make sure to use it on the highest priority target. (the most fed carry, or just the adc usually, whoever does the most damage) No one needs that much Mpen that early. In lane, you usually won't be facing anyone that builds magic resist in lane... Usually. Unless you are prioritizing kill people who are build against you (which you shouldn't be) You should just build straight ap. For me I go dfg zhonyas rabadons void staff sorc boots and then then next item kind of depends. Will of the ancients can be nice to stay alive while you murder everyone, and abyssal scepter can help you survive your opposing laner (presuming they're a mage) PLUS that gives you an aoe magic resist reduction, which, correct me if I'm wrong, does more good for you, allowing for more damage. (At least against those that BUILD the magic resist.. So maybe not adcs...) Honestly as far as your build priorities go, I would just always rush dfg, then sorc boots, then zhonyas, then rabadons/void, then void/rabadons, and the final item is kind of up to you... Liandry's just doesn't in my opinion give you the raw AP that you want. However haunting guise can be nice for early magic pen until you can sell it for something better... or so I've heard. (I don't play Kat much, so take everything that I say with a grain of salt) And since you say "even after I get a penta or quadra and become and unstoppable force", I honestly think a change in build rushing and last item could help you become even better. However, if this build works for you and you have a lot of success with it, and not with other builds, build how you like. There is hardly ever one set build that is always the best. Every game has something that you should change to be more effective!

The same build would work on any mage but you must be ahead already. Building full MPen might be very dangerous if the enemy gets strong early. Typically if I am versus an AD assassin (the new mid meta) I always rush seeker's armguard, maybe after an extra dorans.

If it's working for you, and you're constantly winning more games than you are losing with it, then stick to it. Forget what they say because people will hate regardless.

If you find it's not working, change it up a bit, but don't fix what isn't broken. GL and keep it up.

I just don't understand why Kat needs dfg. She already has plenty of ability to burst somebody as is and using the active in her combo just seems so clunky

The build is actually not bad, just a bit wastefull.

For Kat, Liandrie's adds nothing substantial after haunting guise so you waste gold for the upgrade.

Also most champions only have 30 MR, so the Boots and Haunting Guise already get you to true damage, making the Void Staff superfluss.

Going: Rod/Codex -> Guise->Sorcs->DFG should give you an even better start than you already have.

After that get Abysal Scepter. Only get Void Staff when they start on a second MR item.

Ok now how about instead of because ive found that, for ME, seems to allow me to roam more effectively getting me more kills than but ignite is so awesome for turning a tough fight in your favor but i dont want to lose because flash is so important if your E is down. :/ so many decisions....

I'm no kat expert, but I played against a kat that was running

she rushed a full

and then

She annihilated us, I'm not exactly sure why, but was super effective

It is generally discouraged because Kat has really aweful base damages outside of her ult. So going for a MPen build is assuming you are going to get a large portion of your ult off, which just should not happen against compotent opponents.

It is a build that basically banks on your opponents being bad.

Also, just think about Kat's kit, and you will realize that Liandries just does not synergize with her kit. She is not a sustained damage mage, all of her damage arrives in a burst.

liandries is poorly suited for kata, the best choice for more magic pen is abyssal scepter, it gives better AP more magic pen, can help your team, and is just a better all around choice for katarina ^.^

Honestly, if you play and know your champion more than your lane enemy, and you win 2 of the 3 lanes, you've got the game in the bag. No exception until ELO like Plat